Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 is one of the most controversial pieces of silicon in recent memory. The OnePlus Two is the imminent sequel to one of the best-reviewed smartphones of the past few years. And very soon the two will come together to produce one of the most anticipated products in mobile. Then it's going to get trashed in the press, because it "overheats." And then I'm going to roll my eyes so hard they get stuck. To be fair to the very smart folks who've written very smart articles on the subject, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 definitely isn't the best system-on-a-chip the company ...

OnePlus got the ball rolling on the pre-launch specs it was announcing for its OnePlus 2 handsets a little under a month ago as it shared news of its choice of the Snapdragon 810 for the phone's SoC. As this is probably the most controversial SoC in recent memory, the company made a point to emphasize how overheating wouldn’t be an issue for the chip, due in part to “an improved version of the chipset (v2.1) in the OnePlus 2.” We've already heard about how early 810 issues were blamed on pre-production silicon, so you might have assumed that we were looking forward to another update ...

Founded in 1985, Qualcomm has made the processors that enable our mobile devices since it started making CDMA base stations in 1990. Since then the company has focused its attention on SoCs - systems on a chip - that are at the core of today's smartphones and tablets. Qualcomm is even taking aim at the processors that run in servers and datacenters and Snapdragon processors have even found their way into our smartwatches. Then the Snapdragon 810 was announced, and things started to go downhill - quickly. Snapdragon 810 To bring you up to speed on the Snapdragon 810 debacle, the chip ...

In just a couple more weeks, Q3 2015 will be upon us, and as we've noted before, that's going to mean a period full of some of the highest-profile smartphone launches all year. One of the many handsets we're expecting to see debut is the follow-up to last year's OnePlus One, and though the manufacturer has long confirmed that a OnePlus 2 is in the works, so far it hasn't shared many details about the phone. Today that all starts changing, as the manufacturer shares one of the most important components that will go into making up the OnePlus 2: a Snapdragon 810 SoC. The decision to go with ...

Sony's Xperia Z4 has only just started hitting stores in Japan, and while it may be a very cool-looking smartphone, it sure doesn't sound like a cool-running handset; early reports have pegged the Z4 as falling into the old Snapdragon 810-overheating trap, with operating temperatures pushing 150F and retailers posting warning signs about going easy on the phone lest it run too hot. Of course, the Z4 isn't the only new Sony smartphone these days, and we're also prepping for the arrival of the Xperia Z3+. As that model shares the Z4's internals, we shouldn't be too surprised to hear that the ...

Oh Snapdragon 810, will you ever catch a break? While on paper the SoC looks like an obvious choice for bringing flagship-level performance to a new smartphone, the chip's arrival on the market has been maligned by recurrent reports of excessive operating temperatures. It seems like every few months new voices arrive to warn of the 810's thermal woes, only for others to step up and insist this really isn't a problem, and that any previous overheating issues have been addressed in the chips landing in currently available phones. Well, today Japan gets its hands on the Xperia Z4 (while the ...

With the Nexus 6, Google made the controversial decision to step away from the affordable phone-sized models of the previous couple years and instead go with the six-inch flagship-priced phablet we got. Will this year's Nexus model be a return to old habits, or will we see another handset that's very much cast in the mold of the Nexus 6? A new rumor suggests that Google's staying the course with phablets, and we're looking at another jumbo-sized Nexus. We've previously talked about the idea of Google turning to a Chinese OEM to build the new Nexus, and this report reiterates the claim that ...

The Snapdragon 810 powers some of the highest-end phones on the market right now. And while it's the silicon behind devices like the HTC One M9, Qualcomm finds its SoC behind fewer top-tier devices than it might have just one year ago. Samsung, for instance, side-stepped Qualcomm altogether with the Exynos chips in the Galaxy S6, and the new LG G4 goes with the slightly (and we mean ever-so slightly) lower-end 808. Choices like those have helped fuel rumors of problems with the 810, and specifically claims of overheating. While in the months since that kind of talk ran rampant we've come ...

We all know that higher numbers are better than lower ones, right? But does that same logic apply when we're talking about two high-end mobile processors? The root of the questions falls squarely on LG, and its decision to put the Snapdragon 808 (instead of the 810) inside the flagship LG G4. The LG G Flex 2 uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC, but LG selected the Snapdragon 808 for use in the G4. Some have hypothesized that this decision was made due to what some are characterizing as "overheating" and "aggressive throttling" in the 810. According to a source, the decision to utilize ...

By now you've heard the rumors that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC is "suffering from overheating issues". You're aware of the claims that the HTC One M9 gets "miserably hot". You've even seen what are purported to be thermal images of various devices, and the One M9 is glowing orange, ready to melt through the tabletop. But is any of it true? Tweakers.net published a very compelling image, one that (on first glance) would convince even the most vocal of naysayers. Unfortunately, it's not realistic. The staff here at Pocketnow has used an HTC One M9 quite extensively, and on two ...

MWC 2015 and the launch of Snapdragon 810-powered phones like the HTC One M9 seemed to finally put a damper on those weeks and weeks of everything-that-could-be-is-wrong-with-the-Snapdragon-810 rumors. No matter what bumps along the road the SoC may or may not have had, it was ending up in more and more phones. And to hear a report from about a month back, there could be good reason for this 810 fiasco feeling like it was becoming played out, appearing to show no major thermal issues with the 810 in operation. Now that HTC One M9 handsets are making their way out into the hands of testers ...

For fans of HTC's smartphones, or even just those who appreciate some good pre-release info in general, today's proven to be an absolute treasure trove of insight into this still-unannounced handset. From still shots to video leaks, we're checking out the phone's hardware and software in ways usually reserved for launch day itself. This momentum isn't ready to break just yet, and now we turn our attention to the One M9's SoC, which Qualcomm sure seems to be teasing will be its Snapdragon 810. As you can see in the stills from Qualcomm's Vine teaser above (and in the video embedded below), ...

We've been hearing various Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 overheating reports. If these were only tied to Samsung -- remember, Samsung is reportedly ditching Qualcomm because of this purported issue -- we'd understand that the South Korean giant is bringing an excuse in order to push its own processors (as Samsung reportedly wants to enter the SoC game). However, according to a recent report, it looks like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 is actually running cooler than its 801 predecessor. The test setup includes a device available on the market running Snapdragon 801 on Full HD display, and a ...

When talking about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, it used to be that we were asking ourselves whether or not to believe rumors that the chip was a piece of junk, prone to overheating and generally not performing up to par. But as phone manufacturers like LG step up to stand behind the 810, while others like Samsung appear to be turning their backs on the SoC, the more appropriate question may be “is the 810 actually a bad chip, or is it just getting bad PR?” Qualcomm seems determined to do something about the beating the 810's getting in the press, and today released a statement that ...

The he-said-she-said rumor war over reported problems with Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 810 SoC is starting to feel like it's going to keep on going until 810-based phones are finally in the hands of consumers and we can start putting this SoC through its paces. And with LG set to release G Flex 2 sales upon South Korea as of tomorrow, that day should be here soon enough. But until it arrives, we've got at least one more twist on this story to bring your way, as LG expands upon earlier comments it made about the 810's performance. Just about one week ago an LG exec made some public ...

What chips will be at the heart of Samsung's Galaxy S6, expected to launch in just a matter of weeks? We're used to seeing a two-tiered approach, with Samsung splitting its production run between models running its own Exynos SoCs, and those powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. But this year, amidst rumors of Snapdragon 810 fabrication and performance issues, there's been talk that Samsung could forgo Qualcomm's involvement entirely and commit to using its Exynos chips across all SKUs. We looked at just such a rumor yesterday, and while nothing's yet official, some new information from ...

Folks, this topic will either become subject to one of the most accurate reports and leaks of the year so far, or it will turn out to be the biggest smoke curtain/rumor fails of 2015. TL;DR: the next Samsung flagship will not pack Qualcomm's latest and greatest, the Snapdragon 810. There were a lot of Samsung Galaxy S6 Snapdragon 810 rumors going on lately, and this one claims that it will simply not happen because Samsung wants to compete, even in the SoC business, with the application processor-maker Qualcomm. According to the report, Samsung will favor its own, in-house, Exynos SoC, and ...

Is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC a big headache for everyone involved, or is the next-gen chip going to help supercharge 2015's smartphone lineup? Despite all the potential that appears to be there, the introduction of the 810 to consumer devices has been plagued by reports of hardware problems, incomplete software, and delays that would push back broad availability. Qualcomm's been doing its darnedest to downplay such allegations, but they've continued regardless. This week saw the launch of the newest Snapdragon 810-powered handset, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro; does that mean that these ...

I've been rather impressed with the SoCs that Qualcomm has been releasing under the "Snapdragon" brand, and really fell in love with the chips with the S4 line up back in the day. The S4 Pro was the sought after processor for smartphones and tablets - back in 2012. As we all know, technology marches ever onward. Phones and tablets powered by the Snapdragon 800 series took center stage in 2014. Now that 2015 is upon is, there's a new generation of SoCs on deck, but the Snapdragon 810 is quite a bit different than any Snapdragon you've seen before. Not Krait Qualcomm makes the Snapdragon ...

With the launch of the LG G Flex 2 at CES 2015, and sales starting in South Korea later this month, the era of the Snapdragon 810 SoC is finally upon us. Sure, the chip debuted all the way back in April of last year, but it's taken this long to get the component into commercial smartphones. Why the wait? One rumor that was circulating about this time last month suggested that quite a few hardware problems were impacting the 810's arrival, with issues like overheating and RAM controller faults threatening to delay widespread availability. While Qualcomm was quick to insist that its plans ...

Some phone makers have to scramble to combat the wave of people reporting its new models are bending... other manufactures embrace it as a feature! The latter being the case for LG's latest smartphone, announced at CES 2015, the G Flex 2 - and based on its spec sheet and our hands-on experience, it's already the best smartphone of 2015. Will it bend? When shopping for a new phone or tablet, we generally look at build quality as a major deciding factor. Bending is usually an indicator of sub-par workmanship, and whether consciously or not, products that bend quickly earn a "pass". ...

LG's CES press event is coming up on us quick – the show starts at the end of the hour, and even if you're no in Vegas yourself, you can access the live stream from the comfort of home. The meat of the event, LG's G Flex 2, may have already leaked, but the manufacturer is sure to bring plenty of other hardware to show off. Will we see another model of the same caliber as the G Flex 2 join the curved-screen handset on stage? Maybe not, but LG sure appears to be developing such a phone, as revealed through some newly-uncovered benchmark details. What we see is an LG phone with the model ...

For the past few weeks now, we've been hearing rumors about something new from Samsung and its Galaxy Note 4. From the looks of things, the manufacturer was testing a new Note 4 variant powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip, unlike the 805 in the non-Exynos version of the existing phablet. Would we see the release of an updated version of the Note 4's hardware, just like Samsung delivered for handsets like the Galaxy S4 and S5 in the past? Well, that SoC question is still up in the air, but a new Galaxy Note 4 is very much official, as Samsung confirms news of a Note 4 with tri-band ...

We're coming up on nine months now since Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 810 SoC, and unless you're a lucky developer, you still haven't had a chance to play with a phone powered by one of these beasts. That day is coming soon, though, and with chip production reportedly on schedule, mass-market handsets with 810s at their hearts will be making their retail debut in 2015. When they get here, they could be even better equipped than we had initially expected, as we learn of plans for some next-gen-level LTE throughput. Forget what you know about LTE cat 4 or LTE cat 6 with its even higher ...

Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 is a powerhouse of a phablet, and depending on the regional variant you have, it's running either an Exynos 7 Octa or a Snapdragon 805. Earlier this week we checked out a rumor that claimed Samsung could already be working on another hardware revision of the Note 4, one that would ditch that 805 for a next-gen Snapdragon 810 SoC. The idea makes enough sense – this is exactly the routine Samsung's pulled time and time again with LTE-A models of its flagships – but we really didn't have anything more than the word of an anonymous source to go on. Now we're ...